Lifting the Moon Out of Water
by reid-my-lips
Summary: The Shinobi World War has ended and Taka has disbanded, leaving Suigetsu free to return to Kirigakure and pursue his dream —starting with Chojuro. He and the young swordsman have a rough beginning, but slowly become good friends, and with time, perhaps even more. Shounen-ai/BL/yaoi. Suigetsu x Chojuro. One-sided Chojuro x Mei. Rated M because I don't know what I'll end up writing.
1. Prologue

[Author's Note]

Well, I did it. I've been planning on writing this fic for months now. I'm sure no one cares about it, but I'm excited. If all goes well, this will be the FIRST CHAPTER/NON-DRABBLE SUICHO STORY. Fuck, I hope I stay with it. I really hope I can finish this thing.  
So today, I present you with a prologue. It's not much, but it's something. Please read and review.

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Lifting the Moon Out of Water

Prologue

Suigetsu sighed heavily as he sat atop the gate of the Hidden Leaf, his ever-present cup of water held loosely in his hand. His lip jutted out slightly, and his face was apathetic as he stared out into the crisp green forests that surrounded the village walls.

What now?

The war was over. Hebi/Taka was over. Sasuke was back in the Leaf, and Karin had decided to stay there with him. Why wouldn't she? They treated her nice enough. Heck, she even had family there. There was no reason that Karin would abandon all that to hang out with him.

Though it stung a bit.

It wasn't as if he needed her, though. He didn't need her or Sasuke. He did just fine when it was him and Juugo.  
But Juugo went wherever Sasuke did. He practically worshipped the Uchiha boy.

Which naturally, left Suigetsu alone.

The nin leaned back on his palms, staring up at the sky. It was so goddamn blue. Not a cloud around. It made him mad.

"I mean, really," he started, gesturing to the side. "Do they expect me to stay here with them? Because I'm not. I'm not staying here. N-O-T. I hate it here. I hate this goddamn place."

And he really did. Everything around was lucid and crisp and fresh and nice. It was all cute and alive and painted in bright, vivid colors. The whole area made him sick. Oh, how it made him sick.  
The Hozuki boy much preferred the looks and feel of the Hidden Mist; its cool wet air, the mist that hung around, obscuring the world and dimming the light. He didn't have to constantly drink there, either. The water just seeped into his skin. His pores drank up the water so that he wouldn't have to do it himself.

Suigetsu frowned and rubbed the skin on his shoulder. Everything was so dry, and this was just Konoha. How did anyone live in Suna?

The teen shuddered at the thought.

Yes, Kirigakure was certainly quite superior to the other villages, but still, he wasn't sure that he should go back to it. What if they didn't want him there?

"Though I fought on their side in the war." he huffed irritably. "I deserve a fucking medal."

He didn't want a medal, though. He wanted his sword back, and that was why he _had_ to go back to the Mist. His dream depended on it. It was the Swordsmen of the _Mist _that he was going to lead.

Though he didn't know where to start.

"No matter." he said, jumping to his feet in one fluid motion. "Kiri's as good a place as any. I have to start somewhere."

Suigetsu jumped down from the gate and liquified in midair, his body splashing from the impact that would have killed him. After a few seconds, he slowly emerged from the puddle he made on the ground, stretching his arms as he solidified. He cursed himself when he realized that he had left his cup on the gate.

"I'll get another later." he sighed, waving his hand dismissively. He turned around and started down the path through the forest.

He had shit to do.


	2. Chapter 1

[Author's Note]

This fic is being written using information given in the chapters leading up to and including manga chapter 627. I am presuming that Suigetsu, Chojuro, Mei, etc. survived the war. Ao is dead, which makes me kinda sad, but oh well.  
Also, YAY! I wrote the first chapter. It's a full length chapter for me, meaning it's between 1,000 and 2,000 words.  
And thank you, Kossyluv, for taking the time to review the prologue. Every review counts, guys! It's thanks to that review that this chapter is already written.  
So on that note, proceed to Chapter One!

Please read and review! （^ ω ^）～

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Lifting the Moon Out of Water  
Chapter 1

Things didn't go the way he planned. Not remotely. He had expected a "Welcome home, Suigetsu!" or maybe a "Hey, it's you!", or at the very least, a wave. He had worried that they wouldn't want him back, but he never expected that he'd be put inside a jail cell.

But there he was!

Man, he must've been such a sucker. He walked right in and was arrested as soon as he said "hi" to the gate guards. He hadn't even tried to hide from the authorities.

Suigetsu hated himself for being a dumbfuck.

The teen slumped in the corner of the cell, sighing. He _could_ escape, but the guards had been clear that his next hold would be a fish tank if he tried melting out.

He shuddered. He hated fish tanks.

Regardless, the shinobi couldn't help but feel bitter about his situation. He had no way of knowing that this would be the way he'd be treated. He wasn't a goddamn criminal! Sure, he had helped Sasuke try and capture the Eight Tails, but he didn't have a choice! Sasuke saved him from that fish tank, he _had_ to help him.

Suigetsu crossed his arms and nodded. That was right. He had to do it.

But even if he had done it deliberately, that all should have been amended when he fought in the war with them. If it wasn't for his ability to liquefy his body, he would have died —the teen stopped to count on his fingers— what, eight times? At least eight. He would have died at least eight times.

And if the grounds for his arrest had been the Eight Tails thing, or even the Kage Summit incident, he could at least understand where Kiri was coming from, but that wasn't the case. He wasn't arrested for those things; that wasn't what the guard wrote for the "grounds of arrest" the form.

What did he write? _Capture of a Rogue Shinobi._

That's what they thought he was. That's what he was considered in the years that he'd been gone. A rogue ninja. A piece of lowlife scum that says "FUCK THIS," and deserts his own village. They thought that he had done that.

Suigetsu drew his legs up and pouted slightly. He hadn't deserted Kirigakure. Why would he do that? It'd be a real pain to try and reform the Swordsmen with _actual Swordsmen_ hunting him down, so of course he didn't leave. He had been kidnapped. Orochimaru had kidnapped him for his clan's ability. He captured him, tested on him, kept samples of him in jars...Orochimaru probably had enough of him to fill a room. He charted out his genetic code, kept him in a fucking fish tank...

God_damn_, he hated fish tanks.

"This is _bullshit_." he muttered.

"What is?" a voice asked. It sounded mild and timid, almost absent-minded. Suigetsu's head snapped up.

"Wha?" he blurted, looking around for the voice. He found it in a boy that was filing papers on the other side of the room. The boy wore a blue-gray hunter-nin sweater with Kirigakure camo pants. Shuriken holsters attached to either leg. His Mist insignia was affixed to a sort of harness on his chest, and his eyes were shielded by black-rimmed lenses. His hair was the muted blue color of the Kirigakure sky.

Suigetsu thought he looked rather familiar.

"Who are you?" he asked

The boy didn't look up from the papers.  
"Chojuro." he said absently.

Suigetsu's brows furrowed. That really sounded familiar.

"Do I know you?" he asked. The boy tapped a stack of papers against a table to straighten them.

"I don't know." he said plainly. "So what's bullshit?"

Suigetsu gestured broadly at the cell walls, his pointed teeth showing through his irritated expression.

"Look at this! I'm in jail! I was kidnapped and experimented on for YEARS and this is how I'm treated!"

Chojuro slipped the papers into the drawer of the filing cabinet.

"This is how we treat criminals in the Mist under the Fifth's regime. Would you prefer it be the Fourth's?"

Suigetsu grit his teeth at the comment. He knew of the atrocities that were common in the days of the Bloody Mist. Those days were rough on regular citizens; he didn't want to think about how it might have been on criminals. But still, he didn't deserve this.

"That's the point!" he shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "_I'm not a criminal!_ This is a misunderstanding!" he paused and lowered his arms back to his lap, breathing deeply. Sighing, he let his head thump against the cement wall.  
"How am I supposed to reform the Seven Swordsmen like this?"

A small smile tugged at Chojuro's mouth and he chuckled lightly before turning around to pick up more papers. Suigetsu looked over at him, ready to yell at him for laughing.

At this point, the Hozuki noticed the giant sword that was strapped on Chojuro's back.

"Hey!" he started, jumping up and walking to the cell bars. He reached through them and pointed at the sword. "That's Hiramekarei!"

Chojuro nodded and Suigetsu slid through the bars, reforming about a foot away from the boy.

"Now I remember you!" he said. "You were at the Kage Summit! You're the last Swordsman!"

The boy's face seemed awkward as it shifted into a wide frown, looking uncomfortable with the situation.

"Ehehe... Please get back in your cell...please...they'll think I released you..." he stammered, palms spread in front of him. Suigetsu shook his head, still grinning.

"No way! You have to help me! Together we can reform the Swordsmen!"  
He eyed Hiramekarei jealously.

"Please get back in your cell..."

"Can I touch it?"

"No, please—"

Suigetsu reached toward the sword and Chojuro drew it on reflex, sending his chakra through the handle and shaping it into a webbed net, swiftly casting it on the teen. The Hozuki struggled and tried to melt, but it was no use.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Lemme out of here!"

The swordsman didn't respond, propping Hiramekarei on his shoulder while his other hand fetched a scroll from a drawer. Using his teeth to break the scroll's seal and cut his thumb, Chojuro spread his blood across the paper and formed a one-handed seal. Almost immediately, a large tank full of water appeared in the vacant cell.

"Sorry, Suigetsu-san..." he muttered, pulling the lid aside. He swung his sword above the tank and released his chakra, dropping the teen inside. Without hesitation, he replaced the lid.

"I'm really sorry." he repeated, forcing a smile as Suigetsu pounded on the glass. "I really am."

With that, Chojuro exited the room, and Suigetsu was alone again, alone in a fish tank.

He really hated fish tanks.


End file.
